Another lovely day in Turkey. I am honest when I say that I would be perfectly content to never leave this house. The whole family is so sweet, hospitable and caring. I think I will be endlessly thankful. Ayten told me this morning that her mother says I am "calm and profound like a river." I really love that comment :P We spent the morning sleeping in a little and enjoying the sun that bursts out from the rainy clouds of yesterday. Allie, Chris and Shivani arrived some time in the night after I collapsed promptly at 9pm. I was so happy to see them in the morning and share this experience with more people.
We ventured out to the airport to pick up the last of our comrades, Karol, and then headed to a seaside strip of town next to the Ortaköy Mosque and the Bosphorus bridge. This bridge looks something like the Golden Gate bridge in structure and actually Chris and Shivani both say that Istanbul sort of looks like San Francisco with minarets. Besides eating more lovely food (a cookie with sesame and licorice seeds and a sandwich that was something like a glorified hotdog), I wandered into my first mosque and heard the Call to Prayer for the first time. The call makes you want to stop, it is entrancing, resonating through all parts of the city. We are slowly uncovering the city of Istanbul and we will get to the real gems soon enough, letting the 5-times-a-day call to prayer become a part of our daily ritual.
So we are relaxing tonight after the wonderful food-eating and the notorious waiting-in-traffic. Gearing up to be rid of jet lag and touring a little more.
PS I tried to upload photos to no avail :(
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